100 miles. 30 days. No problem.
Or so I thought.
Our latest challenge, Ready to Run 100, was definitely harder than I thought it was going to be. I was ready for the physical challenge of it.
Cardiovascularly I knew it wouldn't be a problem at all. I was expecting to have sore feet and tired legs from all the running. But what I wasn't ready for was the mental challenge of it.
This challenge messed with my head like crazy!
Running, running and....well, more running. It was monotonous. Boring. And downright irritating to me at times. I didn't ever want to do focused workouts because I just wanted to direct all my energy to logging miles. But what I found was, as I put energy into logging miles, all my energy felt drained from me. And, not only that, I could tell I was getting slower!
So, as I reviewed this challenge I realized that, even though it had it's downsides, it was great for several reasons:
1. It shows the importance of focused workouts. Added in speed and strength workouts help you get faster, energize you, and keeps your mind and body more fresh. RaceDay workouts work for a reason.
2. It shows the importance of variety in workouts. Doing the same thing over and over again doesn't work all your muscles and it doesn't keep it interesting, so pretty soon exercise isn't interesting at all. And you plateau pretty quickly.
3. This one is more personal than anything...I hate just running. I suppose I do triathlon's for a reason. I need to change things up. I don't mind running if it's supplemented with biking and swimming. But straight running is not my gig.
The interesting thing about challenges is you never know what you are going to learn from them. They are so much more than the accomplishment. They are all about what you learn in the process.
So there you have it. I finished this morning with no days to spare. My last 5 miles were rough but I sprinted to the finish.
Happy that it was over.
Happy that I did it.
Happy that I won't be doing it again.
....at least not for awhile.
